ZiefBrief

Law Library Closed on July 4th and 5th for Independence Day

The University of San Francisco is observing Independence Day on Sunday, July 4 and Monday, July 5, and university departments, including the law library, will be closed.  Be sure to check our website for the latest Zief operating hours.

Law Library Closed on Friday, June 18

The University of San Francisco is observing Juneteenth on Friday, June 18, and university departments, including the law library, will be closed.  Be sure to check our website for the latest Zief operating hours.

Zief Library Open Weekends in June

We are pleased to announce that the law library will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm for bar study for the remainder of June, beginning this Saturday, June 12. The law library is open to currently enrolled USF Law students as well as USF Law graduates studying for the July 2021 bar exam.

One of our campus Public Safety personnel will be present during these weekend operating hours to monitor the library's entrance, assist patrons who need help with access, and help ensure the safety and security of our patrons and the building. Library staff will not be available on weekends at this point in time. 

Be sure to complete the Dons Health Check and review our other library policies prior to your visit. Then use your physical or mobile One Card to enter the library. 

Currently, patrons must wear a face covering and sit at one of the marked library study seats so that appropriate distancing is maintained. Students must continue to adhere to USF's COVID-19 safety protocols in order to access the law library.

The law library's group study room online booking system is available. To comply with public health guidelines, only one patron may reserve and use group study rooms at a time.

We will provide further updates on July library hours and public health guidelines for library use as soon as we can.

Chat Closed on Memorial Day

Our live chat service will be closed on Memorial Day, May 31.

Library Chat Service Closed May 20 and 21

Chat service will be closed on May 20 and 21. We'll be back on chat from 9 am to 5 pm on Monday, May 24.

Digital Exam Prep Resources from the Law Library

Law students have access to two great exam prep series through the Lexis Digital Library: the "Understanding" series and the "Questions & Answers" series. Our campus Lexis representatives prepared this flyer with links to these resources for USF Law Spring 2021 exams. The library's Wolters Kluwer Online Study Aid Library gives you access to the following series: Examples & Explanations; Glannon Guides; CrunchTime; Emanuel Law Outlines; Casenote Legal Briefs; and the In Other Words Audio & Video aids.

Summer & Post-Grad Access: Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg Law

Lexis +

USF Law 1L and 2L students will automatically have free unlimited use of their law school Lexis + accounts this summer. No registration is required--just sign in to Lexis as usual and start researching.

Students also have access to online tutorials on Lexis. The on-demand Prepare to Practice Resources include lessons on improving Lexis search skills and Practice-Ready Certification. The program includes 3 modules and an exam to test your knowledge related to researching unfamiliar topics, litigation and transactional drafting, and legal analytics. 

USF Law students graduating in May 2021 can continue accessing their Lexis academic accounts through December 31, 2021. All law students have automatic extended access. No registration is required, there are no restrictions, and no limits on your research time.

Westlaw Edge

Westlaw is giving all continuing law students (1Ls & 2Ls) full access to their academic Westlaw accounts over the summer.

For individuals graduating in May 2021, Westlaw will give continued access through November 30, 2021 if graduates register for this access. May 2021 graduates need to confirm that they want post-graduate access by clicking on the pop-up reminder to register for post-graduate access that appears when you log on to Westlaw. If you haven't seen this pop-up reminder and want to ensure access to Westlaw after graduation, contact USF's campus representative, Marc Fong, at [email protected].

Bloomberg Law

Bloomberg Law is available to 1L & 2L students over the summer. It's also available to graduating students until November 30, 2021 if students register for Bloomberg Law access before graduation.

To register for Bloomberg Law, follow these steps: 

1. Go to: https://profile.bna.com/bloomberglaw-activate/
2. There is no need to enter an activation code - skip that field and complete the other fields.
3. You must use your @usfca.edu email address to register.
4. You should receive a confirmation email within 1-2 business days with login information. 

If you run into any registration difficulties, phone the Bloomberg Law help desk 24/7 at: 888.560.2529

Library's Chat Service Closed on Good Friday, April 2

In observance of Good Friday, a university holiday, chat service will be closed on Friday, April 2. We'll be back from 9 am to 5 pm on Monday, April 5!

Spring Break Chat Hours

During spring break week, the law library's chat research support will be available from 11 am to 4 pm on Thursday, March 11, and Friday, March 12. Our chat service will be closed on March 8, 9, and 10. We will resume our normal chat service hours (Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm) on Monday, March 15.

New! -- Damage Analytics Available with Westlaw's Litigation Analytics

You can now use the damages analytics feature on Westlaw's litigation analytics to identify damages awarded in a particular jurisdiction. To use this feature, select the "Courts" search option, then enter the court for which you would like to view damages data. For example, you could enter "United States District Court, N.D. California" to view damages data from this federal court. Click the "Damages" tab to view damage amounts for that court. You can filter by case type, judge, damages type, damages amount, party, and date. This data can be useful in determining the value of a case, performing a cost-benefit analysis to decide whether to continue with litigation, or helping to craft your settlement negotiations.